The Paranormal Research and Rescue Institute Books 1-3: Books 1-3 in the Paranormal Research and Rescue Institute Series

by Lora Edwards

  The best thing to do was get through the meal so she could get answers. Teagan dug into her salmon and warm vinaigrette salad, barely tasting the delicious food as she mechanically forked it into her mouth, watching as her parents did the same.

  At last the meal was over and her father signed the slip. “Teagan, would you like to have coffee in our suite? Then we can get to those answers I can see you are dying to know.”

  “Yes Dad, that would be fine.” Teagan found her thoughts racing even harder than they had during dinner as they made their way up to their suite. She could not think of anything that would make her grandpa so angry or her parents so defensive. What did they have to tell her that would be so life-changing? Was Ovidia in on it? Was that why she had been acting so strange lately?

  Teagan’s mind whirled as her father and mother led her into their suite, which was a replica of hers, and sat down in the living room. They ordered coffee and desserts then made stilted small talk while they waited for it to be delivered. It was obvious her parents were not looking forward to the conversation.

  Finally, the coffee arrived and was poured, the desserts chosen and served.

  Her parents sat across from her on the couch, again reminding her of one unit, her mother’s hands gripped inside her father’s.

  Her father cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak, but her mother talked over him before he had a chance.

  “Teagan, what we are about to tell you is going to sound crazy, strange and crazy, and it may make you very angry with us, more so once you begin to believe it. Teagan stared at her mother, wondering what they were so afraid to tell her. I am a witch, and by that I do not mean my temperament, but as a hereditary witch. My family line flows from Morgana La Fey, the witch in the Camelot legend. Magic is real, as are a great many other things, my dear. I have the power to do magic, my strongest element being water, and I am somewhat of a Seer, able to see how the past will affect the future.

  Teagan sat rigid staring, she couldn’t find the words to describe the thoughts racing through her head at what her mother was saying. Her mother paused and when Teagan continued to sit and stare she continued.

  “Your grandpa is also a witch and will tell you of his power himself. Your father is fae, and he is a member of the ruling family. When his parents decide to step down, he will rule the land of Faery, the home world of his people. This comes with its own set of powerful abilities, such as a glamour he uses to hide parts of his true form. This glamour has also been used on you my dear.

  “Your grandpa is part of an organization that helps with research into events involving supernaturals, and also sometimes the rescue of these supernaturals from places in time. He will explain more of that if you choose to work with him.

  “When you were small, the institute and the fae were struggling to find common ground. The different supernatural factions were taking sides and it looked as if there may be a conflict. We did not want you to be a part of that. We wanted you to be able to grow up on your own, not the daughter of the heir to the Faery throne and the daughter of a high-ranking witch family to be manipulated by both sides. We wanted you to just be able to be a girl.

  “So, we blocked your powers and raised you as a human, letting you experience childhood away from the petty drama of the fae court or the politics of the institute and the witches. In one week’s time, it will be your 25th birthday. That is the age we agreed we would tell you about your heritage and allow you to choose which world you would like to reside in.”

  Teagan stared at her parents. Reaching down, she pinched herself, the pain assuring her that she wasn’t trapped in a strange dream. She could not wrap her head around all she had been told and was now convinced her parents were crazy.

  “Teagan, darling, say something,” her mother pleaded with tears in her beautiful violet eyes, an unusual color, one Teagan had always thought.

  “Powers Mom? What the hell? Are you saying you can do magic? You are a witch and Dad is an elf? You do magic, like freaking Harry Potter? Whatever, you guys are kidding me…right? This is just crazy! No, I can’t believe it—I won’t believe it! Where is your proof?” Teagan stood, shouting through the tears welling in her eyes as her world crashed around her. Where were her normal, sane, boring parents? Who were these people?

  “Teagan, I felt that you would not believe, but I am able to show you my true form now.” Her father stood and closed his eyes. A bright light seemed to emanate from him, becoming brighter and brighter until Teagan had to put her hand up to shield her eyes. The glowing then dimmed until she could take her hand away, and where her father once stood, there was a stranger.

  Shock roiled through her body and Teagan felt her breath catch, felt her heart stop, and then gallop in her chest like a runaway stallion.

  It was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He had long dark flowing hair, creamy smooth skin, and eyes that were as green as Irish moss. There was a slight point to his ears and his fingers were long and slender.

  As the shock receded and Teagan continued to stare, she could see her father’s features and personality in the stranger’s face. A faint recognition niggled at her, a dream she could remember having as a child, of being with this man in a field of purple grass that waved in a warm breeze. She had loved that dream as a child, had always felt comforted by it. Was it not a dream but a memory?

  Again, the light brightened around her father, an aura that grew bigger and brighter and then, as before, dimmed. Once again, there stood her father with his silver-tipped hair and reassuringly familiar face.

  “You said true form…do I look like that? Is this not my real face? Did you hide even my own face from me all these years? And those dreams of strange places and people—they were memories weren’t they, from my time in the faery world and at the institute, as you called it?” As she stood there, it was as if a veil had been lifted from her brain and images flooded through her so fast, she was intensely dizzy.

  Her first attempts at stirring the air, a beautiful woman and man she called Nain and Tai, a window with changing scenes, the gut-wrenching feeling of having part of her locked away, a bitter argument between her parents and her grandpa. The scenes blurred past—Ovidia with wings and a sword, playing in a field with her, a glow coming from her, other children whose names and faces she knew.

  Teagan sat back in the chair and sobbed at the assault to her brain. “Why did you do this? Why did you take it away? I have always felt there was something missing, and this is what—this is what caused that hole at the center of me!”

  Her mother attempted to speak through the tears in her eyes, but Teagan held her hand out.

  “No! No, I need time to think. I am going back to my room, and to bed. I want to know where this institute is. I want to talk with Grandpa, and I want you to remove this block on me!” Teagan raged as the memories continued to flow back into her mind, memories of things she had never known, of strange people, things, and places.

  “It is dissolving now. It was set to last until you were told the truth. All of those feelings and memories flooding you is the block dissolving, allowing you to access the memories and powers that have been denied you. Please be careful Teagan. You are untrained, and with your emotions this volatile, you could harm yourself or others.”

  “Just stop!” Teagan yelled, and she felt the floor shake and the windows rattle as she did so. Teagan stopped and forced herself to calm down.

  Her mother may have lied to her, but she was right—she had no idea what she was really, who she was, and she needed answers. She turned, taking one last look at the grief-stricken looks on her parents’ faces before she pulled the door open and left them behind.

  Sitting on the bed in her suite, Teagan wrapped her arms around herself, trying to get rid of the chill that swept through her body. What just happened? How can any of this be real? Her parents were not only not who she thought they were, they were not what she thought they were—and what did that make her? She was what,
a witch-fae hybrid with supernatural powers?

  She stood and moved to the mirror over the dresser, looked long and hard at her reflection. They had said it was a glamour, that she was not what she thought she was, and now that she knew what she was, her powers would slowly return.

  Not really believing any of it even after seeing the transformation of her father, she closed her eyes. “I wish I knew what my true form was,” she whispered quietly into the room. Opening up her eyes, Teagan gasped. She had always had a lighter version of her father’s eyes, not an emerald green but a more muted, faded green, but her eyes now were the beautiful green, bright like a gemstone.

  Her skin was luminous and her hair shined in the light. Her fingers trembled as she swept back her thick red hair to reveal her ears, which were now delicately pointed. She looked as if someone had removed a veil from her face, as if someone had put a light underneath her skin, and she glowed from within.

  Teagan quickly shut her eyes. “Okay, that was enough of a preview for now. Please let me look normal when I open my eyes again,” she said, again speaking to the empty room. She slowly opened her eyes and sighed in relief when the reflection she had always known stared back at her.

  It’s real—the magic, my parents, all of it, Teagan thought, running a hand around the shell of her ear. She was greeted by the smooth, round shape she was familiar with. Apparently, the glamour also extended to touch as well as sight.

  Shaken, she walked over to the built-in bar and pulled out a bottle of red wine. Pulling a glass from the rack, she poured herself a large glass and took it over to the seating area. She picked up the room service phone—she was going to have an old-fashioned pity party complete with wine and desserts.

  The next day would be soon enough to straighten it all out.

  Chapter 4

  “Teag? Teag? You alive?”

  Teagan groaned and opened her gritty eyes to glare at Ovidia, who was currently shaking her shoulder.

  “What do you want Vid? I think I may be dying,” Teagan said as she rolled over, pulling the plush throw from the back of the couch with her. “Go away and let me die in peace.”

  Ovidia snorted. “You are always such a baby when it comes to a hangover. You fae can never handle your drink.”

  Teagan rolled back over and instantly regretted the move as the whole room spun in a slow, sick circle. “What did you just say?” Teagan asked as she slowly pulled herself to a sitting position.

  “You heard me,” Ovidia said, standing over her with her hands on her hips. “I heard your parents finally spilled the beans. It was obvious the spell was waning because I slipped and said things I never would have been able to say before. It must have started to weaken. Good thing they decided to tell you because you would have thought you were going insane.”

  Teagan frowned as memories of the night before flooded back into her brain—her parent’s explanation, her father showing her his true form, looking in the mirror and seeing her own reflection change. She reached up and rubbed the rounded crest of her own ear. Well, at least that was still the same.

  Squinting up at Ovidia’s concerned expression, Teagan remembered a memory she’d gotten back. “You have wings? And a big ass sword?” Teagan asked, her voice muffled from running her hands down her face.

  “You remembered,” Ovidia asked cautiously.

  “Yes. Valkyrie isn’t just your last name, Vid, it’s what you are. Why didn’t you ever tell me? You have been lying to me this whole time, our whole lives.”

  “Teag, I couldn’t. The spell they placed on you to block your memory…they also put one on me so I would not be able to speak of any of this to you or say anything about the institute or my life there. That is how I knew the spell was weakening, because I could slip a few things through.”

  “That accounts for some of the really strange things you have been saying for the past few weeks. What I really need is the famous Valkyrie hangover cure. Why is it that you have possession of such an amazing item when you do not ever get a hangover?” Teagan asked, scowling at Ovidia again.

  “Teag, the famous ‘cure’ you attribute to me is actually one of your mother’s potions that she gave me to help you with hangovers long ago. I just mix it with some OJ and bang no more hangover.” Ovidia reached into her pocket and removed a vial containing a bright blue liquid. “Now that you are aware of the supernatural side of things, there is no reason to hide it. Bottoms up.” Ovidia handed Teagan the tube.

  Teagan stared at it, not sure it was a great idea.

  “Come on Teag, I have been dosing you with this stuff for years! Down it and go get ready—we need to get you to the institute so you can talk with your grandfather about this whole mess. I am sure he can help you understand us better.” Ovidia again offered the blue concoction to Teagan.

  Teagan eyed it and then took it. She trusted Vid, didn’t she? She downed the contents of the vial before she could change her mind and the familiar taste of oranges greeted her, along with a warm feeling in her belly. Just like each time before, Teagan could feel the aftereffects of the wine from the night before erased. She opened her eyes, feeling as if she had just had a refreshing night’s sleep.

  “See, I wouldn’t poison you Teag. I have so much to show you. Go get ready and I will take you to the institute so you can see all the things you have been missing out on.”

  Teagan nodded and headed to her bedroom to shower and dress. She would go see her grandfather and get some answers.

  The institute loomed ahead as Teagan got out of the car with Ovidia.

  Teagan stopped and looked up at the grand spires and turrets of the building as the entire structure shimmered in the morning sun. The building was familiar, and it gave her a slight headache as she remembered being small and looking up at its beauty. An overwhelming sense of being where she belonged flooded her as she walked under the large stone arch, the empty feeling that had been in her chest, filled. This was what had been missing, what she had been waiting for.

  “Okay Teag, are you remembering stuff? Your parents said it would all start to come back to you once you were here.”

  “Yes, it is. I feel like I am almost seeing two of everything—one as I see it now, and one that I think is a memory. It’s a bit disorienting.” Teagan closed her eyes for a minute as the double vision was making her quite dizzy.

  Opening them again, she could see the wide foyer and the long hallway as it was currently. It appeared that once the memory came to life, it faded away, leaving the present. That was good, because she didn’t want to spend however long she would be here for with double vision. It was strange to be in a place where she had memories that were at once familiar and unfamiliar.

  “Do you think you can remember your way to the library,” Ovidia asked her.

  As soon as the questioned was asked, Teagan could see up the stairs, around corners, and through two double doors to a room with a large stained-glass window. She felt an immediate sense of comfort that came with the memory, and something about the window tugged at her.

  “Yeah, I can find it Vid, thanks,” Teagan told her as she started toward the grand staircase leading to the second story.

  “All right sounds good, I will catch up with you later,” Ovidia said as she marched in the opposite direction.

  Teagan waved absently and began a slow ascent up the stairs, feeling as if her head was on a swivel—there were doubles of everything. She saw ghostly images of her and Vid playing; the laughter of those long grown-up children echoing through the halls before it faded away.

  As she slowly walked down the corridors and through doorways, she experienced more of these snatches of memories. By the time she arrived at the library, she had a full-on headache and her brain was swirling with all the things she had forgotten. She had been happy there, content—why had her parents felt the need to rip her out of that place and take her away? She remembered that, in between Ovidia’s visits, she had been lonely. Her parents were overprotective and she
had not been allowed to go out and play with the other kids in the neighborhood. Her childhood had been spent in books, only interacting with Ovidia during her annual visits. Other girls her age had sleepovers and chatted about boys; while she went to museums and spent her time with her nose stuck in a book. She had always wondered why, with all the places they had traveled, her parents had never taken her to England, despite Teagan asking many times.

  She had seen so many exotic places and had always found it strange that her parents had never allowed her to go back to the place she was born. Both of her parents had returned, she knew, but they always found some excuse to leave Teagan behind, and they had never both gone at the same time. Now, Teagan knew they had been hiding this place from her, but the question was, why?

  Teagan was upset with her parents for keeping this secret, for placing a block on her powers, but she was more hurt that her grandpa, who she loved and admired, had kept this secret her whole life. That’s one mystery I can solve right now, Teagan thought to herself as she pushed opened the last set of doors and entered the library. It was exactly how she had pictured it in her mind downstairs a few moments before. She saw memories of her standing at the window—was it moving? She saw herself sitting with Grandfather while they had tea and cookies and he told her some of his famous stories of witches, vampires, and the fae—stories she now knew were true. He had continued to tell her these stories when she moved to America, and she suspected it had been his way of trying to keep this place and what she knew at least somewhat alive for her.

  After she had left, she remembered him and that he was her grandfather, but she did not remember the institute or the memories she’d made there as a child. They were always fuzzy memories of a love for her grandpa and of knowing Ovidia, but not clear memories of where they had met or what where they had lived looked like.

  Stepping all the way into the library, Teagan could not suppress a gasp at the wonder of all the books. In her memory, they just were part of the background and the smell of her grandpa. As an adult with a love for reading, it was like she had walked into paradise. Sink-into-me chairs surrounded a huge fireplace that was crackling with a roaring fire to keep the damp chill of the rainy day out. There were long tables for studying, the wall of stained glass she had seen in her vision before, and walls of floor-to-ceiling books. Her eyes widened as she noticed a wall of shelves, each one full of scrolls with glass doors.